Moore Explains Greinke Trade Rumors

Royals GM Dayton Moore repeated today that he is willing to listen to offers for his ace. Moore told Jim Duquette and Kevin Kennedy on MLB Network Radio what will happen if they can’t sign Zack Greinke to another multi-year contract.

“Then we are going to have to make a decision to move him at some point in time,” Moore said. “Is that this winter? I don't know. Is it prior to the deadline in 2011? Possibly. Is it off-season 2011? But we will have to make that determination no different than other clubs have had to make. Minnesota had to make a similar decision with [Johan] Santana and, of course, Cleveland had to make a decision similar with [Cliff] Lee and [C.C.] Sabathia. So we will have to maximize his value certainly at some point in time.”

Moore says the Royals have received calls on Greinke at multiple points, including at last year’s trade deadline. The Blue Jays and Red Sox are among the teams that have inquired on Greinke, who has a partial no-trade clause and two years and $27MMM remaining on his current deal.

Moore added that the Royals are approaching the free agent market cautiously. The club will look to add one or two right-handed hitting outfielders this offseason and, as we heard yesterday, Jeff Francoeur is one option for Kansas City.

I would love to see Greinke in a Blue Jay uniform next season. Could you imagine the rotation the Jays would have in ’11 if that happened: it would be Greinke, Marcum, Ramero, Cecil and Morrow. That would be sick!

The Jays have the bats and power, I really think the fifth starter is all the Jays need…

Wrong, he’s going to the Braves. Dayton Moore is just a sleeper who thinks of the Royals as if they’re a minor league team for Atlanta. His deals w/ Frank Wren are much worse than the Kansas City- New York pipeline that existed from 1940-1964.

I know every fan of every team is going to say this but I do hope the Cubs take a look at him. He’s not terribly expensive and he’s the kind of TOR that they need if they not only want to contend but actually do something in the playoffs. The Cubs rotation has a bit of upside but realistically it’s pretty mediocre. I don’t know how they could add a big bat at 1b and be able to afford Greinke but if the Ricketts decide a player like him is worth making an exception for with payroll then they could do it. Moving Fukudome and Silva might save them a few bucks but not likely enough to keep them under whatever they’re planning. It’s a long shot but still something Hendry needs to seriously discuss with ownership. I do think the Cubs have enough on the farm to interest KC.

they certainly have the people for a trade. Royals will need outfield help(one area where their deep farm is lacking). Cubs could give something like Andrew Cashner+Brett Jackson or Tyler Colvin+Jay jackson

Yeah, it worries me though that dealing B. Jackson would take away their next center fielder, not to mention a guy that might be able to help them this year. Cashner I could live with, J. Jackson too. Colvin I think is going to be limited by his low OBP going forward but I don’t think Moore cares so much about that given his history. The Cubs also have names like Archer, Carpenter and Hak-Ju Lee that KC might be interested in. The Cubs don’t have a lot of can’t miss type prospects but they do have some depth and quality.

i’m not trying to say your wrong, but the Royals are absolutely stacked with pitching prospects. Mike Montgomery, John Lamb, Aaron Crow, Danny Duffy, Chris Dwyer, and Luis Coleman round out the strongest minor league starting pitching core in baseball. Then again, you can never have too much pitching. i guess add HJ Lee to both my old proposals because apparently cashner/jackson or colvin/jackson isn’t enough.

I can see them being maybe interested in Brett Jackson but he’s not a can’t miss impact type player. The other guys would be sweeteners, not the main course. For a legit #1 pitcher with 2 years of reasonable contract, I would want a close to the bigs stud prospect, plus somebody like Brett Jackson, plus a couple more high ceiling/low A guys. If the Cubs would start the offer with Castro(which they won’t and I don’t blame them) plus….mabye.

I think (like KLaw) that the emotional aspect is overblown with Greinke. He’s been pitching in big cities all over the AL the last three years with no problems. He might no-trade Chicago simply as a negotiating tactic but that’s it I think.

I really think the Royals move him this offseason, a mid-year deal is possible but at least if you move him now you could use some of that money to help shore up the team so they win a few games next year. If I’m Kansas City with that group of prospects coming up I think they should just have a fire sale this year, trade Greinke, Soria, Gordon and Butler. Not for a lack of money, but rather so that team is 3 deep at every position (and cheap) that they could really build a dynasty.

I agree that Butler and maybe Greinke should be dealt but I think Soria should stay. As for Gordon, they won’t get much back and he showed flashes last year of getting it. They need to quit messing with him and give him a shot. Basically, why deal him if you don’t get much in return when he may just turn out okay? At least try to build up value on him before moving him. Besides, that next wave is going to have failures too, they’re going to need a few good things in place already if a dynasty, or more likely, success and contention year in and year out, is going to happen.

I could see a 3-way deal coming to fruition at some point. That way the Royals could maximize their haul without completely destroying one teams farm system. I know, it’s complete speculation, but sometimes we see these blockbusters needing a third team to get involved so that everyone’s happy.

I have no idea what teams would do something like this, but it’s amazing what comes up when these GM’s get their heads together.

The Cubs could trade Randy Wells, Jeff Russell, and Tyler Colvin to the Royals, in exchange for Grienke. Then trade Fukudome and Tom Gorzellanny to the Redsox for Daisuke Matsuzaka. Then, send Sean Marsall to the Yankees for Brett Gardner. Finally, Alfonso Soriano to the Oakland A’s for Rajai Davis or to the Seattle Mariners for Chone Figgins.